Roadtrip
by westenrray
Summary: Emma and Regina go on a roadtrip to save Robin Hood, but Regina realizes something else along the way.


**Hey everyone, this is my first fanfiction. Well, the first I one post. I wrote this in the beginning of Season 4B, so for me, Emma wasn't pissed off and she did not killed Cruella in this one shot. She just went with Regina to help Robin Hood.**

**I hope you enjoy it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any characters in this story.**

* * *

The two women were sitting in the car and they were both silent. Emma knew there was something wrong with Regina, other than the fact that her "true love" was being kept as a, you could say so, prisoner by Zelena, her wicked sister, in New York City. Regina never talked about her feelings, not with Emma, nor with anyone. She was a very serious and reserved woman. Emma, although, knew when there was something bothering the brunette. She may not know what it was, but she knew it was something. Miss Mills wasn't very good at hiding what she was feeling, and Emma always knew when she was lying, but when she tried to talk to Regina, she was either rude or wouldn't answer at all.

After a few kilometeres based on silence, Emma decided to put some music on. She didn't knew if Regina liked, if she did, it was a good thing. If she didn't, Emma would try to find something else to cheer her up. She knew that try to start a deep conversation would take her nowhere, so she was already thinking about something else, even before putting the music on.

_**Ed Sheeran - I'm a Mess**_

"What is this?" Regina asked right away.

"Music," Emma answered simply. "You've never heard music before?"

"Just…."

"You never did!" she laughed. "I can't believe it! It's good for you, 'cause I have a lot of them here."

"Miss Swan…"

"Emma," she instantly said. "Call me Emma. And you'll like it, I promise."

"Don't make any promises you can't keep."

"I never do," the blonde smiled. "We'll find at least one that you'll love."

"I think it's worth a shot, then. What do you have for me… in this thing?"

_**The Fray - Look After You**_

The brunette was with a bad expression on her face. A forced one, by the way. She didn't want to smile, she couldn't give Emma such joy. She wanted Miss Swan to believe she was hard to please. But the truth was; Emma always knew how to please her well.

Emma started singing, completely out of tune. On purpose, of course.

"OHHH BABY BABY, I'LL LOOK AFTER YOUUU" she was screaming, not singing.

"Are you going to _sing_ the whole time?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"If that'll make you smile, yeah, sure."

"But I'm not…" she forced a serious expression. "I'm not smiling."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm not," she insisted, almost laughing.

"You can't lie to me, did you forget that?"

Regina ignored her question, but Emma didn't need an answer this time. She knew that Miss Mills would never forget such a thing. It was weird, because even before Emma told her this, she never tried to lie to her. Not even in the days when Regina hated her, of course, apart from that time when she tried to blame Mary Margaret for Kathryn's "death".

**_The Script - Superheroes_**

"This is very loud," Regina complained.

"You know…" Emma turned down the volume a little. "This is really good."

"The music?"

"This," she said again, like it was obvious. "Us."

"Us?" Regina asked, with a surprised grin on her face.

"Yeah," Emma stared at her for a few seconds, before having to focus on the road again. "We've never had a moment like this. I mean…. Everything lately has been so confusing for me, it feels like I can't trust anyone and…"

"You can trust me," Regina interrupted immediately.

"I know," Emma smiled truthfully. "This is the first time in days that I've ever felt this good."

Regina wondered if even Hook couldn't make her feel good nowadays. "He is her boyfriend, right?" she asked to herself in her mind. He was supposed to make Emma feel good about everything, not only herself, or life. But everything. Even her parents. Regina laughed in her mind. "Hook? Killian Jones? Making Emma feel good about heroes?" she thought ironically and silently.

"So… am I making you feel good by just listening to your loud music?" Regina asked. She couldn't help the smile on her face. It was nothing and yet Emma was feeling even more good than she ever did in days, just like she said.

"Because you're listening to it and you're loving. You're enjoying passing time with me."

She smiled even bigger. Emma almost couldn't stop looking at her.

"We make a great team, you know that, right?"

"We do?"

"Yeah," Emma said confidently. "Our magic can defeat everything."

"Everything except my wicked sister."

They laughed at each other. Even in the worst situations, they could make each other smile.

"Yeah, you don't know that. We never tried to," Regina was listening carefully, giving all of her attention to the blonde. "When she was in Storybrooke, I didn't knew much about magic, now I've been practicing. We can be stronger."

"We can be stronger," Regina quoted Emma's words, just like she was speaking to herself, convincing herself that it was the truth. Perhaps it was.

* * *

The rain started slowly, but after twenty-four minutes driving in the rain, Emma decided to stop on the closest hotel in the area. It was actually a motel, but it was 22:38PM and the rain was getting stronger every second. Regina agreed, for Emma's surprise. She thought it would be difficult to make Miss Mills agree with her, but it wasn't. She asked if Regina would agree to stop by and spend the night in the nearest hotel, and she said 'sure'.

Regina didn't knew exactly the difference between hotels and motels. She spend her life in the Enchanted Forest and then in Storybrooke, both of places didn't have a motel for her to know what it was. Emma thought she knew, by the way.

"Relax, it's going to be fine" Swan said, walking towards the bedroom's door.

She had seen Regina's disapproval face and she started to worry. It wasn't a lie; saying that it was going to be okay, but she started to doubt it when she opened the door.

"I can't believe it."

"Makes total sense, huh."

"What?! Did you asked for this?"

"This what? The bed?! I didn't!" Emma tried to defend herself as quick as she could. "Regina, it's a motel. Not a hotel."

"What is a motel?"

Emma couldn't help but laugh. As closing the door, she tried to stop, but it was way too funy. Miss Mills, the Mayor of Storybrooke, the Queen of the Enchanted Forest, didn't knew what a motel was? So funny.

"What are you laughing at? This is disgusting. Look at the walls, they're dirty."

"I'm laughing at the fact that you don't know what a motel is," she explained carefully. "A motel is for… Uhm, for couples who…"

"_Couples_?" Regina asked. She seemed angry. And confused. She was really, really confused.

"Yeah, but…" Emma didn't knew what to say. It was still funny, but if she laughed, Regina would probably throw her against a wall, not in the sexy way. The Evil Queen way, and though that was also sexy, it would hurt. A lot. "It's for couples who… you know… want to get laid."

"Do you want to_ get laid_ with me, Miss Swan?"

Emma hesited in answering quickly. Regina's question caught her by surprise, and even though she knew that Miss Mills wasn't serious, it made her think.

"Miss Swan?"

Emma seemed to be in another planet.

"Regina, look…" she didn't wanted to say no, so she tried to make a new sentence, trying to calm the brunette down. "We don't have anywhere else to go, besides my car. Do you want to sleep in my car?"

"No," she answered with her head down. "I'm going to take a shower."

Both of the women only had two bags. Regina took hers to the bathroom, that wasn't very clean, either. It wasn't surprisingly, a roadside motel would never had the luxury that Regina was used to have. Emma knew that, she was used to that crap. Hell, she was used to sleeping at the street, sometimes.

While Regina was, slowly, taking a shower, Emma was practicing her magic; moving things to other places and all this beginner stuff. She was almost useless, compared to Regina Mills. But she had to be stronger, for her son, for Robin Hood, even. She wanted Regina to have her happy ending, and that wouldn't happen if Robin Hood died by her hands. By their hands. But Emma made a promise; she promised to give Regina her happy ending. And by Regina's words, it was Robin Hood. "Ew, what she was thinking? He isn't very…" Emma was lost in her thoughts when she heard Mills' voice call her.

"Wow." Emma said, openmouthed.

"What?" Regina asked, unsure if the "wow" meant a good or a bad thing.

"It's just…" Emma tried to contain herself from the shock. A good one. "I've never seen you like this."

"Like what?"

"Wet hair, clean face" she answered slowly. "You're looking… beautiful."

"Are you insinuating that my face isn't clean, Miss Swan?"

"God, Regina. Can't you just take a simple compliment?"

"Sorry," she said while she was arranging what didn't have to be arranged in her shirt. "Thank you."

"Anytime" Emma smiled, making her way to her shower now.

"Emma,"

"What?" she turned around.

"You're also looking beautiful."

"Even with my hair and clothes wet by the rain?" Emma teased.

"God, Emma Swan. Can't _you_ just take a simple compliment?"

* * *

"You're going to sleep there?"

The room had a dirty couch, and Emma, after cleaning herself up, lied down on the small couch, preparing herself to sleep.

"You're the Queen. I'm the girl who's used to sleep in stolen cars."

Regina was surprised. Emma never treated her so good. Miss Swan was a very, very polite woman, but the way she was acting lately with her, it was just too nice. Regina wasn't used to all this kindness.

"Emma…"

"It's fine, really."

Regina was supposed to turn down the lights and sleep, but it didn't seem right, it didn't seem fair. Emma wasn't supposed to sleep on the couch for many reasons.

**Reason number one**: She was the one driving all the time. Regina could drive, but she insisted that it was her car, so she would be the one driving all the time.

**Reason number two**: Emma was too kind and her days homeless and bedless were over. She do not needed to go through this again.

**Reason number three**: The couch didn't have any sheets, and Regina couldn't sleep without having one covering her. She figured out that Emma was like her as well.

**Reason number four**: The couch really seemed dreadful.

Regina decided that having four reasons was quite enough.

"You can sleep here… if you want to."

"What?" Emma opened her eyes.

"The bed." Regina answered. "It isn't as horrible as I thought it was, and this couch seems quite terrible. So if you want to…"

Emma was confused as hell. Was Regina freaking Mills inviting her to bed? Not in the sexual way, of course. But still, was she serious? She was serious! The blonde thought of saying that the couch was good enough, but it would be a lie. It was terrible, just like Regina imagined. The bed seemed a wonderful idea, even more with Miss Mills on it.

"Thanks" Emma said, covering herself up with the white sheet. Gray sheet, truth be told.

"Sure" Regina said, trying not to smile so much, as she turned the lights down.

"Regina! Regina!"

Regina woke up in a shock. Emma was touching her left arm gingerly, and the brunette was more shocked by it than her nightmare. It was good, Emma's hand were soft like a bunny. And as soon as Regina opened her eyes, she could feel Emma's smell. "How can she smell this good in this filthiness place?", she asked herself.

"You were screaming and thrashing yourself," Emma explained.

"I had a nightmare."

Miss Mills were looking all over the place. Everything was dark, except the lampshade on Emma's side of the bed. It wasn't too much light, but she could see almost the entire room. She was so afraid that Emma could see it in her brown eyes. She was terrified, actually. Emma had never seen the brunette that way.

Regina Mills is the kind of woman who is completely fearless of everything. She was the Queen, for heaven's sake. She could destroy entire populations, in fact, she casted a curse who actually did it. Fear was not something that Regina Mills had. Not in Emma's thoughts, no. Regina will always be the most powerful and strongest woman Emma had ever seen in her entire life.

But tonight, things were different. Emma didn't know what the nightmare was, but it had to be something horrifying to make Regina be that afraid.

"What it was like?" Emma asked. She knew the chances of Regina answering were like one in a million, but she had to try this time.

"It was…" Regina's breath was heavy. "Hen…"

She couldn't do it.

"Henry." Emma completed.

But still, Regina couldn't say it. She wanted to, it was obvious, but as much as she did, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"You don't have to tell me," Emma gave up. "It's okay."

The blonde wrapped Regina around herself, laying both of them together, almost breaking the laws of physics, that two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Miss Mills didn't say anything, she just layed her head on Emma's chest. She could hear Miss Swan's heartbeat going way too fast, but tried to ignore it. They stayed like this for about four, five minutes.

"What are you doing?" she finally could ask, for Emma's sadness.

Swan was afraid that Regina would let go of her, but she didn't.

"Protecting you."

Emma was using her hands to caress Regina's arm, carefully, lovingly. It was such a soft touch.

"I don't need protection" Regina lied, not sure if it was to herself or Miss Swan.

"Usually, no. You don't. You're a strong, brave woman," Emma continued with the endearment. "But tonight, you do. I don't know what you dreamed of, and I don't need to, I'm just going to lay here and make sure you're alright, until you fall asleep again."

Regina smiled. Emma was calming her down. Did Miss Swan had any idea of how hard that was? Calming Regina MIlls down? It was almost impossible sometimes. It seemed impossible to calm down, after the nightmare. But Emma was being well succeded.

"This is weird."

"What is?"

"This," Regina whispered. "Me wrapped in your arms."

"It isn't helping?" Emma felt a certain heaviness on her chest.

"It is," she whispered again, as if she didn't want Emma to hear it. "But…"

"We'll continue like this, then."

Emma Swan wasn't the kind of woman who treated people like this. She was nice, sure. She was kind, and she was the saviour, but she wasn't very affective, just with her son. But she had never imagined herself laying in a motel bed with Regina Mills in her arms. It was a good thing, against the odds. God, it was such a good feeling making people smile and feel good, but there was something more about making Regina calm down. There was something unique in that feeling.

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"You didn't." Emma confessed.

"You were awake?" Regina's voice were quite surprised.

"Yes."

"Why? You couldn't sleep?"

They weren't looking at each other, but Swan knew exactly what Regina's eyes were like. The caring, confused and worried look of Regina Mills.

"Yeah…"

"I think you can't lie to me, either."

Emma smiled. It wasn't great news, not that she wanted to lie to Regina, but that meant Regina knew more about her than she thought.

"I was looking out for you."

"You were watching me sleep?" Regina teased.

"Speaking like that…"

"Why?"

"I knew you were afraid. I wanted to be awake in case something happened."

There was something about Emma's words, and Regina noticed it. It was beyond simply care, a simply good action. "You're a strong, brave woman", Regina re-played Miss Swan's words in her mind. "Then why she wanted to make sure I was okay even before my nightmare?", she asked herself a question she knew she'll never get the answer. Not with her mind.

"But you were going to drive all day tomorrow," Regina tried to clean her mind up before she started making theories.

"I know."

"You wouldn't sleep at all."

"It doesn't matter."

They both smiled.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me."

After a few minutes filled with silence, Regina broke it. "Emma? Are you still awake?"

"Yep."

"I have to ask you something," she said carefully.

"Go ahead."

"You and... Hook..." Regina was trying to find the right words. Actually, the words that didn't make her feel like she was being too vulnerable. But there wasn't any, she was opening herself to Emma, wanting or not. "Are you in love with him?" DSD

"I don't know, why?"

Regina was fighting with herself to keep her eyes open. She was calm, yet her heart was beating too fast. She was expecting a "yes", so she could sleep with that weird feeling. She could forget about that in the following day. "How can you not know?"

"Love isn't what we have."

"Why not?"

Emma sighed. She was passing her fingers through Regina's hair. "Because you can't love two people at the same time, I suppose."

"What does that mean?"

"Really, Regina?" she muttered.

"What does that mean, Emma?" she insisted.

"Don't you know?" she laughed. "I'm in love with you, Regina Mills."


End file.
